Authentication information issuing apparatus, delivery system and authentication information issuing method

ABSTRACT

An information processing apparatus includes a processor and a memory. The memory is in communication with the processor, where the memory stores computer-readable instructions that are executed by the processor. The processor performs operations including storing, in association with each other, vehicle position information with which a vehicle is identified, and parcel receipt information with which the vehicle is specified instead of an address or a name. The operations further include specifying the vehicle based on the parcel receipt information. The operations further include acquiring authentication information with which the vehicle is unlocked. The operations further include sending the authentication information to a device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of and claims the benefit ofpriority from U.S. application Ser. No. 16/387,965, filed on Apr. 18,2019, which claims the benefit of priority from Japanese PatentApplication No. 2018-082952, filed on Apr. 24, 2018; the entire contentsof each of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The disclosure relates to a system that temporarily holds a parcel usinga vehicle, an authentication information issuing apparatus and anauthentication information issuing method.

2. Description of Related Art

There has been proposed a technology in which acceptance of a deliveryobject is performed at a trunk of a parcel receiving vehicle designatedas a destination by a receiver (see Japanese Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2006-206225, for example). With the technology, thereceiver designates a receiver's own vehicle as the destination, andthereby, can receive the delivery object even while the receiver is out,without installing a home delivery locker or the like for receiving thedelivery object.

SUMMARY

When the receiver designates the vehicle as the delivery destination ofa parcel, the receiver needs to notify a delivery business operator ofthe position, vehicle number (number plate), vehicle model and others ofthe vehicle. However, in the case where a product is ordered at an ECsite and where the EC site makes a contract with a plurality of deliverybusiness operators, no delivery business operator is sometimesdetermined at the stage of the order. In this case, it is necessary toleave information relevant to the vehicle as the delivery destination,in the EC site. On this occasion, the information relevant to thevehicle is disclosed to a business operator other than the deliverybusiness operator, and therefore, there is a security concern. Forsolving this problem, it is necessary to construct a system in which thevehicle as the delivery destination can be specified only with minimumnecessary information.

The disclosure provides an authentication information issuing apparatusand a delivery system that assure security in a system that temporarilyholds a parcel using a vehicle.

An authentication information issuing apparatus in a first aspectaccording to the disclosure is configured to issue authenticationinformation with which a vehicle is unlocked, to a portable terminal,the vehicle being capable of containing a parcel and being locked andunlocked based on the authentication information acquired from theportable terminal. Specifically, the authentication information issuingapparatus includes a storage device, an acquiring device and anauthentication information sending device. The storage device isconfigured to store a parcel receipt ID as information with which adelivery destination of the parcel is specified and a vehicle ID asinformation with which the vehicle is identified, in association witheach other. The acquiring device is configured to acquire the parcelreceipt ID associated with a target parcel. The authenticationinformation sending device is configured to send the authenticationinformation with which a vehicle as a containment destination of theparcel is unlocked, to the portable terminal, based on the acquiredparcel receipt ID.

The parcel receipt ID is information with which the delivery destinationof the parcel is specified. The parcel receipt ID does not need to beinformation with which the vehicle to contain the parcel is directlydesignated. For example, the parcel receipt ID may be a characterstring, an e-mail address or the like that is designated by a consignee.The vehicle ID is information with which the vehicle capable ofcontaining the parcel is uniquely identified. The storage device storesthe parcel receipt ID and the vehicle ID in association with each other.When the acquiring device acquires the parcel receipt ID associated withthe target parcel, the authentication information sending devicespecifies the vehicle corresponding to the parcel receipt ID, and sendsthe authentication information with which the vehicle is unlocked. Withthe first aspect, using only the parcel receipt ID, it is possible tospecify the vehicle as the containment destination of the parcel, and toissue a key for unlocking the vehicle. That is, when the deliverybusiness operator uses the authentication information issuing apparatusaccording to the disclosure, the consignee only needs to disclose theparcel receipt ID, for the delivery or the like of the parcel.

In the authentication information issuing apparatus in the first aspect,the vehicle ID as the information with which the vehicle is identifiedincludes a vehicle number and position information of the vehicle.

The authentication information issuing apparatus in the first aspect mayfurther a position information acquiring device configured to acquireposition information of the vehicle, and the authentication informationsending device may be configured to further send the positioninformation to the portable terminal.

With the configuration of the first aspect, the position information ofthe vehicle is sent to the portable terminal along with theauthentication information, so that a person in charge can easilyspecify the vehicle.

In the authentication information issuing apparatus in the first aspect,the storage device may be configured to further store characteristicinformation as information relevant to a characteristic of the vehicle,in association with the parcel receipt ID and the vehicle ID, and theauthentication information sending device may be configured to furthersend the characteristic information to the portable terminal.

The characteristic information may include at least one of the color ofthe vehicle, the vehicle model of the vehicle, number plate informationof the vehicle, the parking section of the vehicle, and the address ofthe parking place of the vehicle. Since such characteristic informationis sent, the vehicle is specified more easily.

In the authentication information issuing apparatus in the first aspect,the storage device may be configured to update information associatingthe parcel receipt ID and the vehicle ID, based on information acquiredfrom a consignee of the parcel.

With the above configuration of the first aspect, it is possible toflexibly update linkage between the parcel receipt ID and the vehicleID, based on an instruction of the consignee. For example, as thecontainment destination, it is possible to designate an arbitraryvehicle that is not possessed by the consignee.

A delivery system in a second aspect according to the disclosureincludes a vehicle capable of containing a parcel, and an authenticationinformation issuing apparatus configured to issue authenticationinformation with which the vehicle is unlocked. The vehicle includes areceiving device configured to receive the authentication informationwith which a door is unlocked, from a portable terminal, and anunlocking device configured to unlock the door based on theauthentication information. The authentication information issuingapparatus includes a storage device configured to store a parcel receiptID as information with which a delivery destination of the parcel isspecified and a vehicle ID as information with which the vehicle isidentified, in association with each other, an acquiring deviceconfigured to acquire the parcel receipt ID associated with a targetparcel, and an authentication information sending device configured tosend the authentication information with which a vehicle as acontainment destination of the parcel is unlocked, to the portableterminal, based on the acquired parcel receipt ID.

The disclosure can be specified as an authentication information issuingapparatus that includes at least some of the above devices. Further, thedisclosure can be also specified as a delivery method that is executedby the delivery system. The disclosure can be carried out while theabove processes and the above devices are flexibly combined, as long asthere in no technical inconsistency.

A third aspect of the disclosure is an authentication informationissuing method for an apparatus configured to issue authenticationinformation with which a vehicle is unlocked, to a portable terminal,the vehicle being capable of containing a parcel and being locked andunlocked based on the authentication information acquired from theportable terminal. The authentication information issuing methodincludes the following steps. That is, the authentication informationissuing method includes: (i) storing a parcel receipt ID as informationwith which a delivery destination of the parcel is specified and avehicle ID as information with which the vehicle is identified, inassociation with each other; (ii) acquiring the parcel receipt IDassociated with a target parcel; and (iii) sending the authenticationinformation with which a vehicle as a containment destination of theparcel is unlocked, to the portable terminal, based on the acquiredparcel receipt ID.

With the authentication information issuing method in the third aspect,the vehicle corresponding to the parcel receipt ID is specified, and theauthentication information with which the vehicle is unlocked is sent.Using only the parcel receipt ID, it is possible to specify the vehicleas the containment destination of the parcel, and to issue a key forunlocking the vehicle. That is, when the delivery business operator usesthe authentication information issuing method, the consignee only needsto disclose the parcel receipt ID, for the delivery or the like of theparcel.

With the authentication information issuing apparatus, the deliverysystem and the authentication information issuing method in thedisclosure, it is possible to assure security in a system thattemporarily holds a parcel using a vehicle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance ofexemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be described below withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals denotelike elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic system diagram of a delivery system according toan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing an example ofconstituent elements that are included in the delivery system;

FIG. 3 shows an example of parcel information that is stored in adelivery management server shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4A shows an example of delivery destination information that isstored in a key management server;

FIG. 4B shows an example of vehicle information that is stored in thekey management server;

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a data flow in the embodiment; and

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the data flow in the embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

An overview of a delivery system according to an embodiment will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 1. The delivery system according to theembodiment is configured to include a locking-unlocking device 100, aportable terminal 200, a delivery management server 300, a keymanagement server 400 and an EC server 500.

In the delivery system according to the embodiment, it is assumed that aproduct ordered through the EC server 500 by a user is shipped as aparcel and is delivered to a vehicle 10 by a delivery person. In thedelivery system according to the embodiment, the locking-unlockingdevice 100 mounted on the vehicle 10 performs wireless communicationwith the portable terminal 200 outside the vehicle 10, and locks andunlocks the vehicle 10 based on a result of the communication. That is,it is possible to lock and unlock the vehicle 10 using only the portableterminal 200, without using a physical key. The delivery person todeliver the parcel carries the portable terminal 200, and can lock andunlock the vehicle 10 designated by the consignee, when appropriate.Thereby, it is possible to use the vehicle 10 as a delivery destination(as a home delivery box).

The EC server 500 is a server device that receives an order for theproduct as a delivery target. When the EC server 500 receives the orderfor the product from the user, the delivery of the product is arranged,and information relevant to the parcel as the delivery target is sent tothe delivery management server 300. The delivery management server 300is a server device that manages the delivery of the parcel and aplurality of portable terminals 200 each of which is carried by thedelivery person to deliver the parcel.

The key management server 400 is a server device that issuesauthentication information as information with which thelocking-unlocking device 100 authenticates the portable terminal 200.The key management server 400 issues first authentication information tothe portable terminal 200 through the delivery management server 300,and similarly, issues second authentication information to thelocking-unlocking device 100 through the delivery management server 300.By comparing the first authentication information and the secondauthentication information, the locking-unlocking device 100authenticates the portable terminal 200 as a rightful device.

FIG. 1 illustrates one portable terminal 200 and one vehicle 10, but thedelivery management server 300 may manage a plurality of portableterminals 200. Further, it is allowable to adopt a system in which theportable terminal 200 can access a plurality of vehicles 10. Similarly,a plurality of EC servers 500 may be included.

Next, a configuration of the delivery system will be described.Constituent elements of the system will be described in detail. FIG. 2is a block diagram schematically showing an example of configurations ofthe locking-unlocking device 100, the portable terminal 200, thedelivery management server 300, the key management server 400 and the ECserver 500 shown in FIG. 1. Among them, the locking-unlocking device 100is mounted on the vehicle 10 as the target of locking-unlocking (lockingand unlocking).

The locking-unlocking device 100 is a device for locking and unlocking adoor of the vehicle. Specifically, the locking-unlocking device 100locks and unlocks the door of the vehicle 10, in response to a lockingsignal and an unlocking signal that are sent from an electronic key(portable device) carried by the user of the vehicle, throughhigh-frequency electric waves. In addition to this function, in theembodiment, the locking-unlocking device 100 has a function to lock andunlock the door based on a result of the communication with the portableterminal 200.

The locking-unlocking device 100 is configured to include a short-rangecommunication unit 101, a matching ECU 102, a body ECU 103, a door lockmotor 104, a communication unit 105 and a vehicle information notifyingunit 106. The locking-unlocking device 100 operates using electric powerthat is supplied from an unillustrated auxiliary machinery batterymounted on the vehicle 10. In this example, the illustration of a devicethat performs communication with the electronic key is omitted.

The short-range communication unit 101 is a module that performscommunication with the portable terminal 200 carried by the user. Theshort-range communication unit 101 performs communication in a shortrange allowing communication between the interior and exterior of avehicle cabin, using a predetermined wireless communication standard.

In the embodiment, the short-range communication unit 101 performs datacommunication in the Bluetooth (R) Low Energy standard (hereinafter,referred to as BLE). BLE is a low-power communication standard withBluetooth, and is characterized by allowing communication shortly afterdetection of a partner without requiring pairing between devices. In theembodiment, BLE is used as an example, but another wirelesscommunication standard may be used. For example, Near FieldCommunication (NFC), Ultra Wide Band (UWB), WiFi (R) or the like can beused.

The matching ECU 102 is a computer that performs short-range wirelesscommunication with the portable terminal 200 through the short-rangecommunication unit 101, and performs a control to authenticate theportable terminal 200 and a control to lock and unlock the door of thevehicle 10 based on a result of the authentication. For example, thematching ECU 102 is constituted by a microcomputer. In the followingdescription, the locking signal and the unlocking signal arecollectively referred to as a locking-unlocking signal. The term“locking-unlocking signal” means at least one of the locking signal andthe unlocking signal.

The matching ECU 102 includes a communication processing unit 1021, anauthentication unit 1022 and a key control unit 1023, as functionalmodules. Each functional module may be realized when a centralprocessing unit (CPU) (not illustrated) executes a program stored in astorage device (not illustrated) such as a read only memory (ROM).

The communication processing unit 1021 processes communication with theportable terminal 200 through the short-range communication unit 101.Specifically, the communication processing unit 1021 receives a lockingrequest or an unlocking request (hereinafter, collectively referred toas a locking-unlocking request) from the portable terminal 200, andgenerates the locking-unlocking signal in response to the receivedrequest. The generated locking-unlocking signal is temporarily stored,and is output at the timing when the authentication unit 1022 describedlater succeeds in the authentication of the portable terminal 200.

The authentication unit 1022 performs the authentication of the portableterminal 200, based on authentication information included in thelocking-unlocking request sent from the portable terminal 200.Specifically, the authentication unit 1022 compares authenticationinformation stored in an unillustrated storage device and theauthentication information sent from the portable terminal 200. Then, inthe case where the two pieces of authentication information coincidewith each other, the authentication unit 1022 determines that theauthentication is successful. In the case where the two pieces ofauthentication information do not coincide with each other, theauthentication unit 1022 determines that the authentication isunsuccessful. In the case where the authentication unit 1022 succeeds inthe authentication of the portable terminal 200, the locking-unlockingsignal generated by the communication processing unit 1021 is sent tothe key control unit 1023 described later. The technique of theauthentication to be performed by the authentication unit 1022 may be atechnique of simply comparing the two pieces of authenticationinformation and checking coincidence, or may be a technique using anasymmetric cipher. As for the above-described “coincide”, it is onlynecessary to confirm that the two pieces of authentication informationcorrespond to each other, and it is not always necessary for the two tobe identical. Hereinafter, when appropriate for description, theauthentication information to be stored in the locking-unlocking device100 is referred to as device authentication information, and theauthentication information to be sent from the portable terminal 200 isreferred to as terminal authentication information. When the two do notneed to be discriminated, they are referred to as merely authenticationinformation. The device authentication information to be stored by theauthentication unit 1022 is generated by the key management server 400described later, and is received and stored through a network.

The key control unit 1023 sends an unlocking command or a lockingcommand to the body ECU 103 described later, based on a result of theauthentication performed by the authentication unit 1022. The command issent through an in-vehicle network such as a controller area network(CAN).

The body ECU 103 is a computer that controls a body of the vehicle. Thebody ECU 103 has a function to unlock and lock the door of the vehicle,by controlling the door lock motor 104 described later, based on thereceived unlocking command or locking command. The body ECU 103 mayfurther have functions to perform controls of components associated withthe vehicle body, as exemplified by a power window control, a seatadjustment, an antitheft control, a seatbelt control and a headlightcontrol.

The door lock motor 104 is an actuator that locks and unlocks the door(including an occupant door, a rear gate and a trunk) of the vehicle 10.The door lock motor 104 operates based on a signal sent from the bodyECU 103.

The communication unit 105 is a communication interface for connectingthe locking-unlocking device 100 to the network. In the embodiment, thecommunication unit 105 can perform communication with another devicethrough the network, using a mobile communications service such as 3Gand LTE. The vehicle information notifying unit 106 is a device thatsends information relevant to the vehicle 10, to the key managementserver 400 described later. In the embodiment, as the informationrelevant to the vehicle, the vehicle information notifying unit 106acquires number plate information (hereinafter, referred to as vehiclenumber) and position information of the vehicle 10, and periodicallysends the vehicle number and the position information to the keymanagement server 400 together with a vehicle ID. The vehicleinformation notifying unit 106 may include a device for acquiring theposition information, a device for storing the information relevant tothe vehicle, and the like. Examples of the device for acquiring theposition information include a GPS module.

Next, the portable terminal 200 will be described. For example, theportable terminal 200 is a small computer including a smartphone, aportable phone, a tablet computer, a personal information terminal, anotebook computer, and a wearable computer such as a smartwatch. Theportable terminal 200 is configured to include a short-rangecommunication unit 201, a communication unit 202 and a control unit 203.

The short-range communication unit 201 is a device that performscommunication with the locking-unlocking device 100 in the samecommunication standard as the communication standard for the short-rangecommunication unit 101. The communication unit 202 is a communicationinterface for performing connection to the network similarly to thecommunication unit 105.

The control unit 203 is a device that controls the portable terminal200. For example, the control unit 203 performs a process of generatingthe locking-unlocking request, a process of acquiring theabove-described terminal authentication information, and a process ofsending the locking-unlocking request and the terminal authenticationinformation to the locking-unlocking device 100. For example, thecontrol unit 203 is constituted by a microcomputer. The functions of thecontrol unit 203 may be realized when a CPU (not illustrated) executes aprogram stored in a storage device (a ROM or the like, not illustrated).

The control unit 203 is connected to an input-output unit (notillustrated) that performs interaction with the user. For example, theinput-output unit is constituted by a touch panel, a control device forthe touch panel, a liquid-crystal display, and a control device for theliquid-crystal display. In the embodiment, the touch panel and theliquid-crystal display are included in one touch panel display.

The control unit 203 displays an operation screen with the input-outputunit, and generates the unlocking request or the locking request basedon an operation to be performed by the user. For example, the controlunit 203 outputs an icon for unlocking, an icon for locking, and thelike, on the touch panel display, and generates the unlocking request orthe locking request based on an operation to be performed by the user.The operation to be performed by the user is not limited to an operationto be performed through the touch panel display. For example, theoperation may be performed with a hardware switch or the like.

Further, the control unit 203 performs a process of acquiring theterminal authentication information. In the embodiment, the terminalauthentication information is generated in the key management server 400described later, and is transmitted to the portable terminal 200 throughthe delivery management server 300 described later. When the portableterminal 200 has no terminal authentication information, it isimpossible to perform a locking operation and an unlocking operation onthe operation screen. The terminal authentication information to beacquired by the portable terminal 200 may be a fixed key, or may be aone-time key. In any case, the device authentication informationcorresponding to the terminal authentication information is stored inthe locking-unlocking device 100 in advance.

Next, the delivery management server 300 will be described. The deliverymanagement server 300 is a server device that manages parcels to bedelivered and portable terminals 200 to be carried by a plurality ofdelivery persons. The delivery management server 300 stores informationrelevant to the parcel as the target. In the case where the vehicle 10is designated as the delivery place of the parcel, the deliverymanagement server 300 acquires the terminal authentication informationwith which the vehicle 10 to contain the parcel is locked and unlocked,from the key management server 400, and transfers the terminalauthentication information, to the portable terminal 200. This processis performed before the delivery person starts the delivery.

The delivery management server 300 acquires the device authenticationinformation corresponding to the vehicle 10 (the locking-unlockingdevice 100), from the key management server 400, and transfers thedevice authentication information to the locking-unlocking device 100(the matching ECU 102). This process may be performed whenever thedelivery of the parcel is performed, or may be performed at a timingthat is unrelated to the delivery of the parcel. In the embodiment, thedevice authentication information is acquired at the time of setup ofthe system, and is transferred to the locking-unlocking device 100.

The delivery management server 300 is configured to include acommunication unit 301, a storage unit 302 and a control unit 303. Thecommunication unit 301 is a communication interface for performingconnection to the network similarly to the communication unit 105.

The storage unit 302 is a device that stores information, and isconstituted by a storage medium such as a RAM, a magnetic disk and aflash memory. Information for delivering the parcel to the vehicle issaved in the storage unit 302. In the embodiment, parcel informationshown in FIG. 3 is stored in the storage unit 302, as the informationfor delivering the parcel to the vehicle. The parcel information isinformation associated with an identifier (hereinafter, referred to as aparcel ID) of the parcel and an identifier for uniquely specifying thedelivery destination (specifically, the vehicle 10 that is the deliverydestination) of the parcel. Here, the identifier is an example of theparcel receipt ID in the disclosure. The parcel information is givenfrom the EC server 500 described later and updated whenever the deliveryof the parcel is performed. The delivery system in the embodimentidentifies the delivery destination of the parcel by the parcel receiptID, instead of information such as address or name usually described indelivery slip. Incidentally, the parcel receipt ID is different from theID of the vehicle as the delivery destination. This will be describedlater.

The control unit 303 is a device that controls the delivery managementserver 300. For example, the control unit 303 is constituted by a CPU.The control unit 303 includes a delivery management unit 3031 as afunctional module. The functional module may be realized when a CPU (notillustrated) executes a program stored in a storage device (notillustrated) such as a ROM.

The delivery management unit 3031 is a device that requests issuance ofthe authentication information for unlocking the vehicle 10, to the keymanagement server 400, in response to a request from the portableterminal 200. When the delivery management unit 3031 receives theinformation relevant to the parcel scheduled to be delivered, from theportable terminal 200, the delivery management unit 3031 specifies theparcel receipt ID based on the parcel information stored in the storageunit 302. Further, the delivery management unit 3031 requests the keymanagement server 400 to issue the terminal authentication informationfor locking and unlocking the vehicle 10 corresponding to the parcelreceipt ID. Further, the delivery management unit 3031 transfers theterminal authentication information issued by the key management server400, to the portable terminal 200.

Next, the key management server 400 will be described. The keymanagement server 400 is a device that issues the terminalauthentication information to be used by the portable terminal 200 andthe device authentication information to be used by thelocking-unlocking device 100, in response to a demand from the deliverymanagement server 300. The key management server 400 is configured toinclude a communication unit 401, a storage unit 402 and a control unit403.

The communication unit 401 is a communication interface for performingconnection to the network similarly to the communication unit 301.

The storage unit 402 is a device that stores information, and isconstituted by a storage medium such as a RAM, a magnetic disk and aflash memory. The device authentication information corresponding to thelocking-unlocking device 100, the terminal authentication informationpaired with the device authentication information, and a variety of datafor generating the device authentication information and the terminalauthentication information are saved in the storage unit 402.

Further, information with which the vehicle 10 as the target isspecified based on the parcel receipt ID is stored in the storage unit402. In the embodiment, two kinds of information shown in FIG. 4A andFIG. 4B are stored in the storage unit 402.

Delivery destination information is information associating the parcelreceipt ID and the identifier for uniquely specifying the vehicle 10.Here, the identifier is an example of the vehicle ID in the disclosure.For example, when the parcel receipt ID is an ID corresponding to theconsignee, it can be said that the vehicle ID is an ID corresponding tothe vehicle designated by the consignee. The parcel receipt ID may beany kind of information, if the information is information related tothe vehicle which is the delivery destination. For example, the parcelreceipt ID may be a character string given by the system, a characterstring designated by the consignee, an e-mail address, or the like. Theparcel receipt ID may be information which uniquely identifies theconsignee individual or information which uniquely identifies address orresidence of the consignee. However, it is preferable that theinformation is not information in which private information (i.e. name,address, residence, etc.) of the consignee is directly represented byletters or characters.

Vehicle information is information associating the vehicle ID and theinformation relevant to the corresponding vehicle. In the embodiment,the vehicle information, which includes the vehicle number and theposition information, is updated based on information that is sent fromthe vehicle 10 (the vehicle information notifying unit 106). The vehicleinformation may include information other than the exemplifiedinformation. For example, the vehicle information may include thevehicle model or color of the vehicle 10, the parking section number,the address corresponding to the position information, or the like. Suchinformation may be acquired from the vehicle information notifying unit106 included in the vehicle 10, or may be generated by the keymanagement server 400 based on the acquired information.

The control unit 403 is a device that controls the key management server400. For example, the control unit 403 is constituted by a CPU. Thecontrol unit 403 includes a key issuing unit 4031 and an informationmanagement unit 4032 as functional modules. Each functional module maybe realized when a CPU (not illustrated) executes a program stored in astorage device (not illustrated) such as a ROM.

The key issuing unit 4031 issues the terminal authentication informationand the device authentication information, in response to a demand fromthe delivery management server 300. As described above, the terminalauthentication information is authentication information with which theportable terminal 200 locks and unlocks the vehicle 10 through thelocking-unlocking device 100. The device authentication information isauthentication information that is paired with the terminalauthentication information.

The terminal authentication information and the device authenticationinformation may be previously stored to be acquired, or may bedynamically generated. For example, it is allowable to generateauthentication information that is valid only in a predetermined timeperiod, authentication information for which the number of times of useis designated, or authentication information that can be used only in apredetermined portable terminal 200. In the case where the vehicle 10includes a plurality of regions that can be independently locked andunlocked, as exemplified by a vehicle cabin and a trunk, it is allowableto generate authentication information that allows only one region to belocked and unlocked.

The information management unit 4032 acquires the above-describeddelivery destination information (the information associating the parcelreceipt ID and the vehicle ID), and causes the delivery destinationinformation to be stored in the storage unit 402. For example, thedelivery destination information may be generated based on informationobtained from the consignee. Further, the information management unit4032 acquires the vehicle information corresponding to the vehicle 10,from the vehicle information notifying unit 106 included in the vehicle10, and causes the vehicle information to be stored in the storage unit402. That is, the information management unit 4032 collects and managesthe information shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B.

The EC server 500 is a server device that accepts the order for theproduct from the consignee. The EC server 500 is a general-purposecomputer, and therefore, detailed descriptions of the configuration ofthe EC server 500 are omitted. At the time of the acceptance of theorder for the product, the EC server 500 acquires the parcel receipt IDfrom the consignee. At the time of the shipment of the product, the ECserver 500 sends a delivery notice including the slip number and theparcel receipt ID, to the delivery management server 300 correspondingto the delivery business operator. Thereby, the information shown inFIG. 3 is stored in the delivery management server 300.

Next, processes that are performed by the above-described constituentelements will be described. The processes are classified into a firstphase in which the parcel information is generated in connection withthe shipment of the parcel, a second phase in which the portableterminal 200 acquires the terminal authentication information, and athird phase in which the portable terminal 200 accesses thelocking-unlocking device 100 using the acquired terminal authenticationinformation and locks and unlocks the vehicle. FIG. 5 is a diagramillustrating a flow of data in the first and second phases, and FIG. 6is a diagram illustrating a flow of data in the third phase.

The first and second phases will be described with reference to FIG. 5.The processes of steps S11 to S12 are executed when the delivery of theparcel is performed. First, the EC server 500 sends the delivery noticeincluding the parcel ID and the parcel receipt ID, to the deliverymanagement server 300 (step S11). Here, the sent parcel ID is a slipnumber that is previously issued, and the parcel ID is designated by theconsignee, when the EC server 500 receives the order for the product.Next, in step S12, based on the received information, the deliverymanagement server 300 (the delivery management unit 3031) generates theparcel information shown in FIG. 3. The parcel ID may be generated bythe delivery management server 300.

The processes of steps S13 to S19 are executed when the portableterminal 200 requests the issuance of the terminal authenticationinformation. The processes of steps S13 to S19 are preparation processesfor locking and unlocking, and therefore, preferably should be performedin advance. For example, the processes of steps S13 to S19 may beexecuted at the stage of preparation for the delivery.

First, in step S13, the portable terminal 200 requests the issuance ofthe terminal authentication information to the delivery managementserver 300. In the step, the information with which the portableterminal 200 is identified and the parcel ID (slip number) with whichthe parcel to be delivered is uniquely identified are concurrently sentas an authentication information request.

In step S14, the delivery management server 300 acquires the parcelreceipt ID. In the step, the delivery management unit 3031 refers to theparcel information stored in the storage unit 302, and uniquelyspecifies the parcel receipt ID. In step S15, the delivery managementunit 3031 adds the specified parcel receipt ID to the authenticationinformation request, and then sends the authentication informationrequest to the key management server 400.

In step S16, the information management unit 4032 specifies the vehicleID of the vehicle 10 as the delivery destination of the parcel, based onthe received parcel receipt ID and the stored delivery destinationinformation. Further, the information management unit 4032 acquires thevehicle information corresponding to the specified vehicle ID. Asdescribed above, the delivery destination information is previouslygenerated based on the information obtained from the consignee. As thevehicle information, the information periodically sent from the vehicle10 (the vehicle information notifying unit 106) is stored.

Next, in step S17, the key issuing unit 4031 generates and acquires theterminal authentication information specific to the portable terminal200 and the vehicle 10 (the locking-unlocking device 100 correspondingto the specified vehicle ID).

Next, in step S18, the key issuing unit 4031 sends the generatedterminal authentication information to the delivery management server300. Further, the delivery management server 300 transfers the terminalauthentication information to the portable terminal 200 (step S19).Thereby, it is possible to perform an operation for unlocking thevehicle 10, on the portable terminal 200.

In steps S18 and S19, the vehicle information corresponding to thevehicle 10 as the delivery destination is sent as information attachedto the terminal authentication information. Thereby, the portableterminal 200 can obtain the position information and vehicle number(number plate information) of the vehicle. The delivery person can findthe vehicle 10 as the delivery destination, based on the positioninformation and the vehicle number.

In the embodiment, the terminal authentication information istransferred through the delivery management server 300. However, theterminal authentication information may be directly sent from the keymanagement server 400 to the portable terminal 200. Further, in theembodiment, the device authentication information is previously issuedby the key management server 400, and is stored in the locking-unlockingdevice 100. However, the key management server 400 may be issued at thesame timing as step S14, and may be transferred to the locking-unlockingdevice 100 through the delivery management server 300.

The third phase will be described with reference to FIG. 6. Steps S21 toS22 are processes for unlocking the vehicle 10 using the portableterminal 200. When the user (that is, the delivery person) of theportable terminal 200 performs the operation for unlocking the vehicle10 through the input-output unit, the link with BLE is establishedbetween the portable terminal 200 and the locking-unlocking device 100,and in step S21, the portable terminal 200 sends the unlocking requestand the terminal authentication information to the locking-unlockingdevice 100.

In step S22, the authentication unit 1022 included in thelocking-unlocking device 100 compares the terminal authenticationinformation sent from the portable terminal 200 and the deviceauthentication information stored in advance, and performs theauthentication process. When the authentication is successful, the keycontrol unit 1023 performs an unlocking process of unlocking the door ofthe vehicle 10.

Steps S31 to S34 are processes for locking the vehicle 10 using theportable terminal 200. The user of the portable terminal 200 performs anoperation for locking the vehicle 10 through the input-output unit,which is a touch panel screen, for example. Then, in step S31, theportable terminal 200 sends the locking request and the terminalauthentication information to the locking-unlocking device 100.

In step S32, the authentication unit 1022 included in thelocking-unlocking device 100 compares the terminal authenticationinformation sent from the portable terminal 200 and the deviceauthentication information stored in advance, and performs theauthentication process. When the authentication is successful, the keycontrol unit 1023 performs a locking process of locking the door of thevehicle 10.

After the locking, the communication processing unit 1021 included inthe locking-unlocking device 100 sends a notice (locking notice) ofcompletion of the locking, to the portable terminal 200 (step S33).Thereby, the notice of completion of the locking is output on the touchpanel screen of the portable terminal 200. In the case where theterminal authentication information is a one-time key, the one-time keymay be invalidated at the timing of step S33. Finally, the portableterminal 200 sends the locking notice to the delivery management server300 (step S34). The delivery management server 300 may send a messageindicating completion of the delivery, to a terminal associated with theconsignee, for example, to the portable terminal carried by theconsignee.

With the above-described embodiment, the consignee can receive theparcel using the vehicle, simply by giving the notice of the parcelreceipt ID to the EC server 500 at the time of the order for theproduct. Particularly, since the position information included in thevehicle information is periodically updated, the consignee can receivethe parcel even if the vehicle moves.

Next, a first modification of the embodiment will be described. In thedescription of the embodiment, the delivery destination information tobe stored in the key management server 400 is previously generated basedon the information obtained from the consignee. However, the deliverydestination information does not need to be fixed, and may be updated atan arbitrary timing. For example, when the consignee accesses the keymanagement server 400 using a terminal, the consignee's parcel receiptID may be linked with an arbitrary vehicle ID. With this mode, it ispossible to use, as the delivery destination, the vehicle 10 which isnot possessed by the consignee, for example, a car sharing vehicle.

Next, a second modification of the embodiment will be described. In thedescription of the embodiment, the delivery management server 300performs the request of the issuance of the authentication information,based on the request sent from the portable terminal 200. However, therequest of the issuance of the authentication information may betriggered by another event. For example, the processes of steps S14 toS19 may be executed at the timing when the delivery management server300 generates the parcel information in step S12. That is, theauthentication information may be issued at the stage when the deliveryprocedure of the parcel is performed. Such a process can be adopted inthe case where the portable terminal 200 to be used at the time of thedelivery is specified in advance. Only the processes of steps S14 to S18may be performed in advance, and the process of step S19 may beperformed at the time of the delivery, that is, after the portableterminal 200 to be used at the time of the delivery is specified.

Next, a third modification of the embodiment will be described. In thedescription of the embodiment, the vehicle number and the positioninformation are used as the vehicle information. However, only one ofthem may be used as the vehicle information. Further, other informationmay be added to the vehicle information. For example, the vehicle modelor color of the vehicle 10, the parking section number, the addresscorresponding to the position information, or the like may be added, andmay be sent to the portable terminal 200.

Next, other modifications of the embodiment will be described. The aboveembodiment and the above first, second and third modifications are justexamples, and the disclosure can be appropriately modified to be carriedout, without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. For example,in the description of the embodiment, the vehicle cabin and trunk of thevehicle have been exemplified as the region where the parcel is held andthat can be locked and unlocked, but the disclosure is not alwayslimited to them. The disclosure can be applied to objects other than thevehicle, for example, to a facility, a containment apparatus and thelike, if there is a region that can be locked and unlocked using aportable terminal.

Further, in the description of the embodiment, the system in which theparcel is delivered has been exemplified, but the same configuration canbe applied to a system in which the parcel is picked up. In this case,the delivery destination only needs to be replaced with a pickupdestination.

Further, in the description of the embodiment, the mode in which theconsignee orders the product through the EC server has been exemplified.However, the disclosure may be applied to another mode. For example, thedelivery management server 300 may acquire the parcel receipt ID as thedestination, from a shipper of the parcel. When the delivery businessoperator can acquire the parcel receipt ID in this way, the disclosurecan be applied to a mode in which a third party ships the parcel.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus comprising: aprocessor; and a memory in communication with the processor, the memorystoring computer-readable instructions that are executed by theprocessor and that perform operations including: storing, in associationwith each other, vehicle position information with which a vehicle isidentified, and parcel receipt information with which the vehicle isspecified instead of an address or a name, specifying the vehicle basedon the parcel receipt information, acquiring authentication informationwith which the vehicle is unlocked, and sending the authenticationinformation to a device.
 2. The information processing apparatus ofclaim 1, further comprising: position information acquiring circuitryconfigured to acquire the vehicle position information of the vehicle,wherein the processor is further configured to send the vehicle positioninformation of the vehicle to the device.
 3. The information processingapparatus of claim 1, wherein: the memory is configured to further storecharacteristic information as information relevant to a characteristicwith which the vehicle is identified, in association with the parcelreceipt information and the vehicle position information, and theprocessor is further configured to send the characteristic informationto the device.
 4. The information processing apparatus of claim 3,wherein the characteristic information includes at least one of avehicle model of the vehicle, a color of the vehicle, number plateinformation of the vehicle, a parking section of the vehicle, and anaddress of a parking place of the vehicle.
 5. The information processingapparatus of claim 1, wherein the memory is further configured to updateinformation associating the parcel receipt information and the vehicleposition information, based on information acquired from a consignee ofa parcel.
 6. The information processing apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe processor is further configured to receive the parcel receiptinformation from the device.
 7. The information processing apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the acquiring the authentication information includesthe processor being configured to (i) send, to a server, anauthentication information request that includes the parcel receiptinformation, and (ii) receive, from the server in response to theauthentication information request, the authentication information. 8.An information processing method comprising: storing, in a memory of aninformation processing apparatus, in association with each other,vehicle position information with which a vehicle is identified, andparcel receipt information with which the vehicle is specified insteadof an address or a name; specifying, by processing circuitry of theinformation processing apparatus, the vehicle based on the parcelreceipt information; acquiring, by the processing circuitry of theinformation processing apparatus, authentication information with whichthe vehicle is unlocked; and sending the authentication information to adevice.
 9. The information processing method of claim 8, furthercomprising: acquiring, by position information acquiring circuitry ofthe information processing apparatus, the vehicle position informationof the vehicle; and sending, by the processing circuitry of theinformation processing apparatus, the vehicle position information ofthe vehicle to the device.
 10. The information processing method ofclaim 8, further comprising: storing, in the memory of the informationprocessing apparatus, characteristic information as information relevantto a characteristic with which the vehicle is identified, in associationwith the parcel receipt information and the vehicle positioninformation, and sending, by the processing circuitry of the informationprocessing apparatus, the characteristic information to the device. 11.The information processing method of claim 10, wherein thecharacteristic information includes at least one of a vehicle model ofthe vehicle, a color of the vehicle, number plate information of thevehicle, a parking section of the vehicle, and an address of a parkingplace of the vehicle.
 12. The information processing method of claim 8,wherein information associating the parcel receipt information and thevehicle position information is updated based on information acquiredfrom a consignee of a parcel.
 13. The information processing method ofclaim 8, further comprising: receiving the parcel receipt informationfrom the device.
 14. The information processing method of claim 8,wherein the acquiring the authentication information further includes:sending, by the processing circuitry of the information processingapparatus to a server, an authentication information request thatincludes the parcel receipt information; and receiving, by theprocessing circuitry of the information processing apparatus from theserver in response to the authentication information request, theauthentication information.
 15. A non-transitory computer readablemedium having in instructions stored therein, which when executed by aprocessor in an information processing apparatus cause the processor toexecute a method comprising: storing, in association with each other,vehicle position information with which a vehicle is identified, andparcel receipt information with which the vehicle is specified insteadof an address or a name; specifying the vehicle based on the parcelreceipt information; acquiring authentication information with which thevehicle is unlocked; and sending the authentication information to adevice.
 16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, themethod further comprising: acquiring the vehicle position information ofthe vehicle; and sending the vehicle position information of the vehicleto the device.
 17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim15, the method further comprising: storing characteristic information asinformation relevant to a characteristic with which the vehicle isidentified, in association with the parcel receipt information and thevehicle position information; and sending the characteristic informationto the device.
 18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim17, wherein the characteristic information includes at least one of avehicle model of the vehicle, a color of the vehicle, number plateinformation of the vehicle, a parking section of the vehicle, and anaddress of a parking place of the vehicle.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 15, wherein information associatingthe parcel receipt information and the vehicle position information isupdated based on information acquired from a consignee of a parcel. 20.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein theacquiring the authentication information further includes: sending, to aserver, an authentication information request that includes the parcelreceipt information; and receiving, from the server in response to theauthentication information request, the authentication information.